<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Kindred spirits by Bl4ckHunter</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23367313">Kindred spirits</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bl4ckHunter/pseuds/Bl4ckHunter'>Bl4ckHunter</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Arrow (TV 2012)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Crime, Dinah Drake a more likeable character, F/M, Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 12:00:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,502</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23367313</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bl4ckHunter/pseuds/Bl4ckHunter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>One-shot story. On his way back to Starling, as he targets another name on the List, Oliver finds a kindred spirit in a woman, who had been scarred similarly as him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Oliver Queen/Dinah Drake</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Kindred spirits</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Something that occurred to me and I've always wondered, whether Oliver/Dinah Drake could work under different circumstances, since I liked their interactions in 5x11 and it reminded me a lot of Oliver/Helena. Partly inspired by Dexter.</p><p>The first scene takes place briefly before Oliver "returns" to Starling City after his five years away by setting up his rescue on Lian Yu. He had already been "found" but on his way to Starling he made a small pit stop.</p><p>Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A group of gangsters were planning to smuggle some barrels with chemical waste before lights flickered.</p><p>"What the hell is going on?" One of the gangsters demanded before arrows shot them down.</p><p>"Lee Henston, you have failed this city." A voice echoed throughout the room.</p><p>"Who… who said that?" Another gangster looked around.</p><p>The Hood jumped down from above onto the desk, kneecapping some of the gangsters running away. Henston attempted to run but the Hood fired an arrow with a line, pulling him towards him and knocking him out.</p><p>Other gangsters aimed their guns at the Hood, who kicked over the desk and used it as cover before throwing a fletchette at the chandelier above, cutting the line as it fell down and crushed the gangsters and knocked some of them out. More gangsters fired and as the Hood was forced to shoot them down in self-defense as some barrels fell down.</p><p>A bigger gangster grabbed Oliver by his hood and ripped it off before Oliver slammed him to a wall, causing for the big guy to let Oliver go. The big guy grabbed a shotgun but lowered it as he stared in disbelief at seeing Oliver's face. "Oliver Queen? You're supposed to be dead."</p><p>Oliver heard a gunshot and stilled, for a few seconds thinking he had been shot before he saw red blooming from the gangster's shirt as he fell down as he saw a tanned woman with bruised face and golden brown hair with a gun in her hand as behind her was one of the barrels that had fallen and opened, making Oliver realize she was in it.</p><p>The woman aimed at Oliver but he threw a fletchette, disarming her before she lunged at him, screaming ferociously, trying to scratch his eyes out but Oliver got her in chokehold and she vainly tried to struggle out before she passed out and Oliver sighed. She saw his face. That put a little wedge into his plans.</p><hr/><p>As the woman came to, she noticed that she was in a bed, in bandages and that someone had treated her injuries. "Who… what…" She turned her head to see Oliver as she stared in disbelief.</p><p>"Hello, Dinah." Oliver said as she stared in disbelief.</p><p>"You… you're Oliver Queen." The woman whispered. "I saw you on TV. Shouldn't you be on your way to Starling?"</p><p>"I made a small pit stop." Oliver said.</p><p>"How do you know who I am?" Dinah demanded as Oliver pulled out a file.</p><p>"Dinah Drake. Late 20s. A rookie detective from Gotham City. Reported missing a month ago." Oliver read.</p><p>"A month?" Dinah whispered, clenching her fists, reliving the pain. "That long?"</p><p>"You were assigned to investigate Lee Henston. A smuggler of toxic waste. Never reported back."</p><p>"My first case. I should've been more careful." Dinah sighed.</p><p>"If not for me, you'd probably be dumped at the bottom of the bay by now." Oliver said.</p><p>"What are you expecting from me? Thank you? Or are you asking me if I'm not going to tell anyone who you are or what you've done? Because I doubt anyone's gonna believe me." Dinah drawled.</p><p>"No. I just wanted to see if you're fine." Oliver said.</p><p>"I'm not dead, if that's what you're wondering. And… I guess I owe you a thanks." Dinah admitted.</p><p>"And you? Are you fine?" Oliver asked.</p><p>"Where's Henston?" Dinah asked.</p><p>"I got him. He's in prison." Oliver said.</p><p>Dinah glared. "That's not good enough for me. His people tortured me and raped me for weeks."</p><p>"Don't." Oliver said, recognizing the look in her eyes as she was slowly reaching for her gun. "Don't even think about it. Trust me. I've been there. Going after him is not gonna help you move past this. It's only going to make things worse."</p><p>Dinah snorted. "How could it get worse?"</p><p>"You go down this path, you're gonna open something inside you you're gonna wish you had kept locked in and there's no way you can close it anymore, if you do it. Trust me." Oliver said. "The best thing you can do is walk away and try to find a way to heal. I know how you're feeling. You think that what they did to you, scraped away pieces of your soul and you don't even know who you are anymore. Once you touch that darkness, it's gonna stay with you forever. And when it does… well, there's no way you get a happy ending."</p><p>"How do you expect me to move past this? I have nowhere to go." Dinah asked.</p><p>"It's too late for me to turn back. But it's not for you." Oliver said. "Go home to your parents. Find a way to heal."</p><hr/><p>Few weeks later, Oliver, now in action as the Hood, was in the Foundry, looking for his next target on the List before he saw the news report on TV.</p><p>"<em>Lee Henston was released few days ago after testifying against the Kotero cartel…</em>"</p><p>"Are you kidding me?" Oliver demanded furiously, glaring fiercely at the TV before picking his hood and bow, walking off. "If he's back to his old habits, I'll do whatever it takes to stop him."</p><hr/><p>The Hood entered Henston's warehouse through the roof window and was on the rafters as saw his men load up toxic waste and he clenched his bow.</p><p>Henston turned around and heard gunshots and swishing as his men were shot down by arrows before facing the Hood as he glared, aiming his gun. "Not you again!"</p><p>"You're back to your old habits? I'm gonna shut you down permanently." The Hood sneered, notching an arrow before he heard cocking of a gun behind him and rolled away as one of Henston's thugs tried to shoot him. The Hood shot him before the gangster could shoot again, killing him in self-defense before he saw Henston aiming his gun and then he was shot from behind as Oliver saw a familiar woman.</p><p>"Long time no see." Dinah smiled.</p><hr/><p>"I didn't expect to see you again." Oliver said as he met Dinah outside.</p><p>"Me either." Dinah said. "I've… thought about what you said and took me some time but I got some help. A therapist. I wanted to start over as a cop elsewhere and by coincidence, I was assigned to Starling City. When I read the news and saw that Henston was out, I wanted to know what he was up to and get a valid reason to bust him but you beat me to it." She chuckled as Oliver smiled.</p><p>"Did it… make you feel better? When you killed him?" Oliver asked as she took a breath.</p><p>"I thought it would at the time… now I'm not so sure." Dinah admitted hesitantly as Oliver nodded.</p><p>"Hold on to that doubt. It means you're still human." Oliver said before hissing.</p><p>"You're bleeding." Dinah said as she saw the wound on his hip. "Come to my place."</p><hr/><p>In Dinah's apartment, she had pulled the bullet out of Oliver's wound and stitched him up. "There we go."</p><p>"Thanks." Oliver said.</p><p>"You helped me. That's the least I could do." Dinah said as she looked him in the eye.</p><p>"Are you OK? Did you find your peace with Henston's death?" Oliver asked.</p><p>"Honestly… if what I'm feeling is peace… I don't want it. I thought it would make me feel better but… it feels… hollow. Like if there's a void inside me that I can't fill no matter how hard I try." Dinah said.</p><p>"Hold on to that doubt. That means you're still human." Oliver nodded.</p><p>"Does it ever get easier? That pain? That uncertainty?" Dinah stared at him.</p><p>"Somedays it's like the burden's not there. Sometimes… it's like it's about to crush you." Oliver said as they stared at each other. Neither of them knew who moved first but next thing they knew, they laid down on bed as Oliver took off Dinah's top and unclipped her bra as they kissed fiercely.</p><hr/><p>Sometime later, after Quentin arrested Oliver, Dinah entered Lieutenant Pike's office.</p><p>"Sir, with all due respect, Detective Lance's evidence against Mr. Queen and accusing him of being the Hood is circumstantial at best and the fact that it's given by a biased detective with a clear grudge against Mr. Queen due to his daughter being on Queen's Gambit doesn't help." Dinah said.</p><p>"I agree." Pike said as he turned to Hilton. "Get Quentin here."</p><p>A few minutes later Dinah left as Quentin entered and there was a rather heated argument between Quentin and Pike about Quentin's grudge against Oliver that had gone too far with Quentin having unsubstantiated evidence against Oliver and his obsession with him blinding him, which led him to accusing Oliver of being the Hood.</p><hr/><p>Oliver read Dinah's text on his phone as he smiled, glad that Quentin was forced to back off. At least he had someone else who would look out for him and understand him too and had an ally in SCPD.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Lee Henston was one of the names on the List but we never got any details, so I made a background for him. And as I said, I liked the interactions between Oliver and Dinah in 5x11, since it reminded me of Oliver/Helena and I think Dinah could've been an OK character with good writing but the twist with Vince being Vigilante ruined her.</p><p>So, what do you guys think?</p><p>Please review and let me know if you have enjoyed this one-shot.</p><p>With regards</p><p>Bl4ckHunter</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>